Development Council Co-Chair Council Challenge

We, as a community, have achieved something very special. We have turned around our job growth and economic performance from one of the worst in the country to one that is now being envied not only in the Rocky Mountain Region, but also in the entire country.

Funding to continue our program and build on the momentum we have created is insufficient for the task at hand. Our challenge is to change that.

Economic development is a highly competitive business. The amounts of money new businesses and new jobs generate for communities are enormous. The competition for those companies and those jobs has intensified at a startling rate. It is not surprising that communities have on many occasions "oversold" their capabilities and have underestimated the time and dollars it takes to deliver a site ready to be built on by a prospect. It is also not surprising prospects are very skeptical of towns promising versus showing sites that are ready. If we do not put our resources and priorities into growth, we will be left far behind.

The focus of Progress & Prosperity II is to attract and retain jobs as well as investments in a diversified local economy. Our goals are formidable: but they can and will be achieved through this solid five-year plan possible through the collaboration of private and public sector funding.

"Other communities are doing it, and if we do not put our resources into economic development, we will be left far behind"